Independent bookshops

South West

Best Books is a well stocked discount bookshop specialising
in books of interest to those visiting the area, as well as cards and gifts.
Books not in stock can be ordered to arrive the next day, and special offers
include a Book of the Month, which gives customers 50% off publishers' prices.
There is also a family-friendly coffee shop with play area.

This beachside shop stocks local books and a wide range of
maps and walking guides to the area, as well as a strong selection of fiction
for all ages. An ordering service is available for books not in stock.

North West

A wide range of books spread across two floors at this
award-winning village bookshop and cafe. Cards, gifts, toys, CDs and stationery
are also stocked, and staff can order books and even arrange delivery. Simply
Books' packed programme includes book clubs, coffee mornings and various author
and themed events.

North East

A five-floor Georgian town house is home to Minster Gate
Bookshop, vendor of antiquarian and second-hand books. Minster Gates formed
the entrance to the medieval precinct of York Minster, and is a street that
has been associated with books and bookselling since 1580; formerly known as
Bookland Lane. Specialising in children's and illustrated books, folklore and
Arthurian literature, the shop also stocks a range of old maps and prints,
with an emphasis on lithographs and engravings of York and Yorkshire and the
work of book illustrators from 1800 to 1940.

East Midlands

Five Leaves stocks many independently published books,
specialising in topics including cityscape and landscape, politics, poetry,
LGBTQ, counterculture, psychology, international writing, and magazines and
journals. A wide variety of greetings cards, post cards and gift wrap are
also stocked, as well as some ethically sourced products such as Zapatista
coffee, Zaytoun olive oil, olives, soap and a small selection of Radical Tea
Towels. Regular events are hosted, including on most Wednesday evenings.

West Midlands

This vast emporium is dedicated to all things
comic-related, including graphic novels, books, posters and merchandise.
Stock is imported from as far afield as the US, Japan and Europe. The
store also holds signing sessions, hosts a free comic book day, runs
competitions and recommends reading lists.

Bookmark was named Independent Bookshop of the Year in the
2001 British Book Awards, bagging the regional title in 2007 and 2008. It has
around 20,000 new titles on its shelves, some of which are local and out of
print. A free secondhand search usually turns up positive results within two
weeks. Lincolnshire writer Margaret Dickinson visits the shop with her new
release each year, and lan Titchmarsh, Kate Adie, Bill Turnbull, Rick Wakeman
and Simon King have all done readings. The shop also sells gifts, including
handmade wooden boxes and fragrance lamps, and its cafe serves locally
sourced, homemade food.

This bookshop has more than 12,000 books in stock and
prides itself on its variety of local interest titles, including a wide range
of natural history books, as well as its children's section. For the
last two years the Holt Bookshop has been named one of the Independent's 50
best bookshops in Britain. The shop hosts and organises a wide range of
author events, both in store, at Gresham's School and as part of the annual
Holt Festival.

The Aldeburgh Bookshop, which has also been named
Independent Bookshop of the Year, was founded in 1949, and has been run by
its current owners, John and Mary James, since 2000. The shop stocks a wide
range of history, biography, travel writing and books on Suffolk, as well as
cookery, gardening, natural history and a children's section. International
delivery is available, and the owners hold a monthly book club, organise the
annual Aldeburgh Literary Festival and invite their regulars to share their
Desert Island Books.

London

Second-hand and rare books of all kinds are sold at
Croydon's Bookworm. Comics and magazines are also available, and local art
and craft work is exhibited and sold here too. A range of book clubs,
writers' clubs and local author nights are held instore.

This specialist children's bookshop also has a toy section
and small cafe selling coffee and tasty cakes. Regular events are held,
including storytime on Saturday mornings, book signings, readings by
children's authors and drawing sessions with illustrators.

Greenwich Book Place and Gallery stocks vintage magazines,
first editions and second-hand books, as well as prints and pictures. Books
cover a wide range of subjects, including performing and visual arts, travel
and topography, economics, gardening, religion, sociology, history, maritime,
politics, sport, natural history and more.

This is one of the last remaining independent bookshops in
the area and has gained a reputation for its signing events, with authors
including Terry Pratchett, Jacqueline Wilson and Anne Widdecombe. The
shop also helps organise and run events for local literary festivals, and in
2009 was named South of England Independent Bookshop of the Year, being
finalists two years later in the 2011 Parliamentary Best Small Shops
Awards.

Scotland

J & G Innes has been in its historic premises since the late
1800s. It sells books, cards, gifts, stationery, newspapers and
magazines. Suppliers include Parker, Waterman, Filofax, Moleskine and
Steadtler.